Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 238 Year-End Cabinet Meeting
In mid-November, the sea conditions in the North Atlantic became increasingly severe. Fortunately, the two-masted sailing ships had excellent seaworthiness, and the fleet returned to Rendeneume without incident.

At the dock, Vig rushed over to greet them upon hearing the news, but noticed that the crew members were unusually excited, and a bad feeling arose in his heart.

"You plundered a port?"

"No, of course not. I have reached an agreement with the governor of Lisbon, who allows us to sell our goods there. Also, the port of Gijon in Asturias allows us to make a short stop, on the condition that we pay an ironclad fee as a berthing charge."

Hergi took out a parchment containing information on prices in Lisbon, tax rates for various goods, and the goods to be purchased on this voyage.

According to the agreement, the crew would receive half of the profits from the voyage, but that didn't warrant such excitement. Vig listened to their boasting and heard a somewhat familiar name—"the Canary Islands."

"You found that island?"

Hergier nodded. "Yes, while we were anchored in Lisbon, the brothers were having fun in a tavern when they found a local sailor. Under his guidance, we sailed south for ten days and discovered these islands."

According to the custom of "whoever discovers, owns," Helgi should rightfully be the owner of the Canary Islands; however, the fleet belonged to Vig. After discussion, Helgi pledged allegiance to Vig as Count of the Canary Islands in exchange for Vig's recognition and protection of his rule over the Canary Islands.

After the investiture ceremony, Hergi returned home and tallied up his life savings, totaling 930 pounds, most of which came from the annual dividends from the West Sea Fur Company.

"Not enough, far from enough."

Developing new territories requires ships and sailors, and the royal fleet has no reason to do his private work. Currently, a brand-new two-masted sailing ship costs 140 pounds, and with the addition of hiring sailors, installing heavy ballistae, and purchasing armaments, the total expenditure will be nearly 200 pounds.

Secondly, the Canary Islands are far from Britain, and if invaded by foreign enemies, it would be difficult for the mainland to provide reinforcements in a short time. Helgi's idea was to build a stone fortress, which would be extremely expensive.

Finally, he also needed to recruit a large number of laborers to clear land and plant sugarcane. Nowadays, Britain had plenty of vacant land, and unless the wages were high enough, few people were willing to go to the unfamiliar southern seas.

Seeing her husband's troubled expression, Britta tried to dissuade him: "Are you sure you want to invest all your savings in a deserted island? What if you can't grow sugarcane and grapes? How will you survive in the future?"

However, Hergi's determination far exceeded his wife's expectations. He not only invested all his savings, but also used the shares of the West Sea Fur Company as collateral to invite merchants to invest, leaving himself no way out.

In December, the cabinet summarized the revenue and expenditure of 859 and examined the working conditions of the eleven counties under its jurisdiction.

Officials in the five northern counties and County Tyne, familiar with Vig's character, dared not be perfunctory in this regard and generally met the standards.

The remaining five counties performed terribly, not only failing to meet tax revenue targets, but also submitting disorganized reports with many expenditures unaccounted for, and exhibiting appalling security conditions.

Clearly, the current king is not as easy to talk to as the old monarchy. Vig is furious, and the consequences will be severe. He is already planning massive layoffs in five counties to eliminate all kinds of abuses.

"Next summer, a new batch of students will graduate. At that time, they will be exempted from serving in the Imperial Guard and will be directly assigned to fill vacant positions."

He quickly wrote down the relevant plan in Chinese characters (to prevent leaks), stretched after finishing, and went to attend the cabinet meeting.

After a year of construction, a six-meter-high wall was built around the palace, and a moat was dug outside the wall, with water from the Thames River flowing into it as a moat.

Inside the palace, the main hall is still under construction, while the other buildings are largely completed. The place where the cabinet holds meetings is similar to the old palace, which is also an ordinary-looking bungalow.

At 3 p.m., all cabinet members had arrived, and Goodwin chaired the meeting. Vig did not sit down, but instead strolled around the hall with his hands behind his back, listening to the numbers his subordinates reported.

In terms of population, the entire British Isles has approximately 2.2 million inhabitants. Four years ago, when Wigg was Prime Minister, the Kingdom's population was estimated at 2.2 million. Due to advancements in agricultural technology and ample food supplies, the natural growth rate is roughly 1% to 1.5% annually. Combined with immigration from Northern Europe, the population should have increased by more than 100,000 in the past four years.

However, a war that lasted for more than half a year severely devastated southern Britain, causing the total population to fall back to the level of four years earlier.

The most severe damage was suffered in Rendinium and several surrounding counties, where farmhouses were burned down, wells were blocked, and wheat fields that had been cultivated for many years degenerated into weed-infested wastelands that will require a long time to recover.

West Frankish territory across the Channel had a population of 500 to 600 million, a favorable climate, and abundant resources, giving it an overwhelming advantage over Britain. To narrow the population gap, Vieg continued the same measures he had used in the North to attract immigrants.

"Tell the merchants who are going to trade with the Nordic countries that if there is extra space on their ships on the return journey, they should invite the locals to settle in Britain, including not only the Vikings, but also the Sami (Finland) and the Slavs (Eastern Europe), and the kingdom will cover the cost of the ships."

In terms of finances, total revenue last year was £13,000.

The combined revenue from agricultural and commercial taxes in the five counties of the North and Tyneburg, as well as from factories (ironworks, distilleries, shipyards, and paper mills), amounted to four thousand pounds. The largest source of growth was the distilleries, whose whisky was well-received in the domestic market, and with increased production, it could also be sold in Northern and Eastern Europe.

The five newly acquired counties are in dire straits. Apart from Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, which are located in the far north, the remaining three counties are impoverished, rife with banditry, and provide only £1,100 in revenue.

The total revenue of the customs was £4,000, mostly from wool export duties and woolen import duties, which are expected to decline year by year as the domestic textile industry rises.

The silver ingots handed over by the three silver mines were worth two thousand pounds.

The tribute paid by the vassals was worth one thousand pounds.

There were also some miscellaneous incomes, including dividends from the West Sea Fur Company, inheritance taxes paid by vassals, and royalties from the textile mills, totaling nine hundred pounds.

The domestic textile industry is developing rapidly, and it is expected that the patent royalties and related taxes paid next year will increase significantly.

Regarding expenditures.

The biggest expense is military spending. The maintenance cost of the army and navy (salaries, food and lodging, equipment wear and tear) is £3,000; the cost of nine new warships commissioned this year is £1,800; the construction of city defenses and beacon fire early warning systems in various places is £700; the cost of military horse farms is £500; all in total, the military spending is £6,000.

The total expenditure for the administrative system, temples, and schools was three thousand pounds.

The court's expenses amounted to two thousand pounds, mainly for various banquets. In October, vassals from all over the country came to pay their respects, and after more than half a month of lavish feasting, the food expenses for more than six hundred nobles exceeded seven hundred pounds.

In other respects, thanks to the Wiggs's keen sense of money, many ineffective expenditures were eliminated, and the total expenditure of the court was less than half that of the old royal family.

The renovation of the royal palace has cost £500 and is still not completed, with further costs to be incurred.

Miscellaneous expenses totaled one thousand pounds.

Total income was £13,000, total expenses were £12,500, and the surplus was £500. This figure exceeded Viggo's expectations. He had thought that this year he would break even, and might even have to pay more taxes. He never expected to be able to save a sum of money.

"Phew, once we get through the first year, things will get much better."

(End of this chapter)